News Corp. is laying plans for a ground-breaking national news offering to be distributed via downloadable application for Apple Inc.'s iPad and for mobile phones. The venture, still in preliminary stages, would have its own dedicated reporting and editing staff, but draw from New Corp.'s publishing assets, such as the New York Post and Dow Jones. Readers would pay an yet-to-be-determined subscription fee. If green-lit, News Corp. could invest anywhere from $30 to $40 million in the venture, according to a source. NYP executive editor Jesse Angelo would oversee the separate digital news operation, in addition to his newspaper …

We know she feels like a woman. But does Shania Twain feel like judging the No. 1 show on television? Twain's name is the latest to pop up in the "American Idol" judging sweepstakes. Two and possibly three seats on the Fox program's judging panel are open, and the network is scrambling to fill them before auditions in front of the judges begin next month. The New York Post reports that Twain has become a front runner to take one of the spots that had been vacated by Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres. Twain, the Canadian-born country/crossover star, is …

Former WNBC New York president/GM Tom O'Brien has been named chief revenue officer at CNBC. It's a new position at the cable channel, which is, like WNBC, part of the NBC Universal group. O'Brien reports to CNBC President Mark Hoffman and starts immediately. "As the media landscape evolves, our go-to-market strategy needs to do the same," said CNBC in the announcement. "We now need to build on our success by developing a holistic revenue strategy that focuses on getting the full value for CNBC's exceptional brand across all platforms and commercial opportunities -TV, Digital, International, Branded Content and …

Youth isn't king at the networks any more. The median age for viewers at those networks and CBS is now 51. The broadcasters' audience has aged at twice the rate of the general population during the past two decades, according to a new report. It's a quiet trend with a real impact on the way they do business. Worries that an aging audience will alienate advertisers is becoming old thinking. For years, networks (except for CBS) have sold advertising based on how many people were watching in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic. Both CBS (55) and ABC (51) had median ages …

An Emmy promo spoofing AMC's acclaimed drama "Mad Men" has landed NBC in a tight spot. The network aired the first of three "Mad Men"-style promos Wednesday night, featuring Emmys host Jimmy Fallon in the role of lead character Don Draper and Christina Hendricks playing her character Joan Harris. Rivals with shows against "Mad Men" in the best drama series category weren't amused -- especially since NBC had no plans to spoof their shows too. As one network with a dog in that particular race points out: The TV Academy voting window is still open. "Are they kidding?," asked …

An Associated Press-Univision poll finds many English-speaking Hispanics turn frequently to Spanish-language TV and radio, drawn by a cultural connection and some concerns that English-language media portray them negatively. The poll says about 4 in 10 Latinos who spoke mostly English spent time each day - typically several hours - checking out Spanish media. About 35% of mainly English-speaking Latinos also say English media portray Hispanics mostly in a negative way. The media consumption of Hispanics is drawing attention as businesses and political groups battle for their loyalty. Hispanics now represent 16% of the U.S. population.

Jennifer Lopez won't be a judge on "American Idol," says a well-placed source. The singer-actress had been closing a deal to be a permanent judge on the show for its upcoming 10th season but the deal fell apart. "Her demands got out of hand," says the source. "Fox had just had enough." With Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres exiting the talent search show, Fox has been looking at various celebrities to up the star factor in the judging arena, including rocker Steven Tyler. Other reports have said that the panel could go back to the original three-judge format. Lopez …

Demand Media mass produces instructional and entertainment articles and videos for Web sites, including its own eHow.com. It generated a daily average of more than 5,700 articles and videos during the most recent quarter-aimed at landing traffic and advertising. Demand Media is one of the biggest providers of video to Google Inc.'s YouTube. It also supplies articles to an array of sites, including USA Today and the San Francisco Chronicle. Demand Media has historically relied on outside advertising companies, such as Google, to sell ads that appear alongside its content. Its new strategy is to sell special ad sponsorships …

Digital video recording pioneer TiVo Inc. and cable television provider Cox Communications Inc. are making it easier for Cox subscribers who use TiVo's DVR boxes to watch Cox's on-demand video content. Cox's video-on-demand library will become accessible on TiVo's latest DVR, the TiVo Premiere, in Cox's major markets, which includes Las Vegas and San Diego. The integration is expected early next year. The companies also said that Cox will market TiVo Premiere, offering free installation for subscribers who buy the boxes online or in bricks-and-mortar stores and promoting it on its site.

CBS Interactive is giving television the Foursquare treatment. The digital division is beta-testing TV.com Relay, a service that transplants Foursquare's combination of user check-ins and badge rewards from brick-and-mortar venues to TV shows, notes The Hollywood Reporter. The goal: become the go-to digital companion for the live-TV experience important to a conglomerate that owns a broadcast network and wants to support its ad rates. While TV.com Relay joins an increasingly crowded field of so-called social-TV services, its CBS affiliation will bring a huge advantage: on-air promotion in CBS prime-time programming. "It can be very reciprocal for TV to …